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Johnny Damon has just told the Detroit media he is staying in Detroit. Sports Illustrated baseball reporter Jon Heyman reported yesterday that Johnny was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox. He is now expected to continue to be a regular player in the Detroit lineup.

“I love playing with these guys and I want to finish with them,” Damon said earlier. “We always talk about winning as a team and losing as a team. I’ve enjoyed my time here and I want to finish it out.”

Damon had said earlier that both Tampa Bay and the Yankees had interest in him according to his sources. The Rays seemed to be the most intriguing to him since he lives in Orlando. Damon said he had not had any contact from the Red Sox on whether they wanted him or whether they were merely trying to block him to Tampa Bay.

Now that Damon has rejected the deal, he can not be placed in waivers the remainder of the year.

The Red Sox were then successful in trying to block him from going to Tampa Bay.

*Outfielder Johnny Damon talked with reporters following a 12-2 victory over Kansas City last night. He said that he was leaning toward staying with the Tigers rather than waive his no-trade rights and accept a trade or waiver claim to join the Red Sox.

“My gut and everything else tells me Detroit’s the place for me,” he told reporters. The deadline for a decision is Wednesday afternoon, so things can definitely change.

* Hideki Okajima was roughed up in a rehab assignment last night, pitching for Triple-A Pawtucket. He allowed four runs on four hits, including a home run to Russ Adams, a left-handed hitter who hadn’t homered off a southpaw all season.

* Catcher Kevin Cash is set to be activated before Tuesday’s game. Dusty Brown will be sent back to the PawSox as he was seen packing up last night.

YES Network reported via Twitter that outfielder Johnny Damon has been claimed off waivers by the Red Sox. The first report came from Sports Illustrated baseball reporter Jon Heyman.

There are now three options for the Tigers until a decision has to be made on Wednesday afternoon. They may take him back, make a trade with the Red Sox, or let him go for no return.

Damon’s contract has a clause requiring him to approve a trade to all but eight teams on a list. The Yankees and Rays are on that list, the Red Sox are not. So Damon could seek financial incentive to approve the deal.

Here is what he told reporters in Detroit earlier today:

“It’s probably as tough of a decision for me to make right now as it was for me to leave Boston for New York. It’s something that, fortunately, we have some time to think about,” he said.

“At this moment, I’m not sure I want to leave Detroit for that. I enjoy playing here. I enjoy the kids I’m playing for, the coaching staff. But obviously, Terry Francona is amazing. But it’s something that I’m going to have think long and hard over.

“I had a great time playing there. But I think once it was apparent that I wasn’t a necessity to re-sign there, it started to get ugly. And that’s why I’ve got to think long and hard. I have to think if they do have a strong chance to make the playoffs with the guys beat up there. I have to think long and hard if I’m going to once again be probably one of the nicest guys in baseball, but be once again the most hated guy in baseball. That’s what it boils down. You guys see how I get booed in every ballpark already.”

“The only reason why I would be considering it is to help out this team in the future. I love the Tigers organization, and I love the fact that they’re up-front and honest. If somehow they can get a good prospect back, a player that can help this team in the future, it would be beneficial for them. I would like to remain a Tiger, so I think that’s why these next hours are pretty important.”

Marco Scutaro and the Red Sox found their flair for the dramatic, but have come through in walk-off fashion twice in a row. (Jim Davis/Boston Globe)

BOSTON, Massachusetts (Sunday, August 1, 2010) – Clay Buchholz and the Red Sox looked like they were well on their way to a shutout on Sunday afternoon, but Jonathan Papelbon blew the save. Marco Scutaro delivered on a bunt single, turned error in a 4-3 walk-off win over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. The win gives the Sox the series victory extends a streak of five wins in six games.

The Red Sox jumped out to a two-run lead on singles to the outfield by Eric Patterson and Adrian Beltre in the second and third innings, respectively. Later in the third, Ryan Kalish made it 3-0 on a sacrifice fly to center field.

Miguel Cabrera put the Tigers right back in the game on a two-run double to the wall in center field off of Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth, while Jhonny Peralta singled to center, tying the game at 3-3.

Scutaro laid down a bunt single with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth inning, but the final run of the game, in the form of Darnell McDonald, scored on a throwing error by Tigers reliever Robbie Weinhardt.

Jonathan Papelbon, who blew the save and then earned the win, blew starter Clay Buchholz’s magnificent outing. Buchholz allowed just three hits and two earned runs in eight-plus innings, while walking four and fanning five. Papelbon improved to 4-4, despite blowing his fifth save, as he allowed two hits and a run over one inning.

Justin Verlander did not factor into the decision as Brad Thomas fell to 4-1. Verlander surrendered six hits and three runs in seven innings, while Thomas allowed two hits and an unearned run in one inning.

The Red Sox will now welcome the Cleveland Indians to Fenway Park for a four-game series this week. John Lackey will face Fausto Carmona in Monday’s opener.

NOTES

* Jacoby Ellsbury continued his minor league rehab assignment on Sunday afternoon at McCoy Stadium. He finished the day 2-for-5 with a run for Triple-A Pawtucket. The PawSox lost their second in a row, 9-3 against Durham (TB).

* The Red Sox face the Detroit Tigers in the rubber game of a weekend series at Fenway Park. Detroit got off to a fast start yesterday, but David Ortiz delivered with a three-run double in the ninth inning to lift the Sox, 5-4, after a 6-5 loss on Friday. The Sox have now been victorious in four of the last five games, while the Tigers have lost five of six.

Trade Deadline Recap: The Red Sox were part of a few moves at yesterday’s 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline. Outfielder Jeremy Hermida was designated for assignment, while Kalish and reliever Dustin Richardson were recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket. The club traded right-handed pitcher Ramon Ramirez to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for right-handed pitcher Daniel Turpen, as well as acquiring catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia from the Texas Rangers in exchange for first baseman Christopher McGuiness, right-handed pitcher Roman Mendez, a player to be named later and cash considerations.

Rehab Update: Jacoby Ellsbury was 2-for-4 with a run scored for Pawtucket, ironically on the day that fans at McCoy Stadium received a Jacoby bobblehead. The PawSox fell to Durham (TB), 5-1, in front of over 12,000.

Road Warriors: Following the current series, the Sox will host the Indians for a 4-game set (August 2-5) before embarking on another 10-day, 10-game trip to New York (August 6-9), Toronto (August 10-12) and Texas (August 13-15). Boston went 6-4 on its recent 10-game trip to Oakland (1-2), Seattle (2-2) and Los Angeles (3-0). Of Boston’s 27 games from July 19-August 15, only seven tilts will be played at home, all during the current homestand. The club is 7-5 thus far during that stretch. The Sox have just one off day (August 16) in a 27-day span from July 30 through August 25.

Bye July: Yesterday marked the last game in July and at 12-13 the Sox finished the month with a losing record, their second losing month in 2010 (April, 11-12). The last time Boston had two losing months in a season was 2006 (August, 9-21 and September, 13-14).

In the Community: The annual Picnic in the Park, benefitting the Red Sox Foundation’s Red Sox Scholars and Rookie and RBI programs, will take place following today’s game. The fan favorite charitable fundraiser, hosted by The Red Sox Wives, will include a special performance of Blue Man Group, a BBQ picnic and a 30-minute autograph session with current Sox players. Tickets are still available today at RedSox.com or by calling (617)-226-6002.

It did not look good from the start for the Red Sox, but in the end David Ortiz put them on his back. He delivered with a three-run double in the ninth inning to lift the Sox to a 5-4 win over the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park Saturday afternoon. The Sox have now been victorious in four of the last five games, while the Tigers have lost five of six.

The Tigers jumped out to a fast lead in the first against Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka. Miguel Cabrera connected on a two-run home run to left field (26), giving Detroit a 2-0 lead.

Ramon Santiago doubled that lead on a soft single to center field in the second and a line double to left field in the fourth.

In the seventh, rookie Ryan Kalish delivered in his Major League debut with an RBI single to right field to put the Red Sox on the board, 4-1. Darnell McDonald cut the deficit to 4-2 on a double to left field.

It was the Papi show in the ninth as his double just split the outfielders in left-center field, allowing McDonald, Jed Lowrie, and Kevin Youkilis all to come in with the runs to propel the Sox to the walk-off victory. It marked the Sox’ fifth walk-off victory this season, the last coming on July 17 against Texas. The walk-off hit was Ortiz’s 18th in the regular season and 15th with Boston.

Hideki Okajima earned the win in relief of Daisuke Matsuzaka. He improved to 4-3 as he threw a perfect ninth inning, setting up the Red Sox rally in the ninth. Matsuzaka allowed eight hits and four runs over six innings, while walking two and fanning five.

Max Scherzer allowed nine hits and a run over 6.1 innings for a no-decision, while Phil Coke blew his second save and took his second loss. Coke allowed the tying and winning runs to score, while only getting one out.

Clay Buchholz takes the ball in the rubber game of the three-game series on Sunday afternoon. Justin Verlander will oppose him for the Tigers.

NOTES

* The Red Sox were part of a few moves at yesterday’s 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline. Outfielder Jeremy Hermida was designated for assignment, while Kalish and reliever Dustin Richardson were recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket. The club traded right-handed pitcher Ramon Ramirez to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for right-handed pitcher Daniel Turpen, as well as acquiring catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia from the Texas Rangers in exchange for first baseman Christopher McGuiness, right-handed pitcher Roman Mendez, a player to be named later and cash considerations.

* Jacoby Ellsbury was 2-for-4 with a run scored for Pawtucket, ironically on the day that fans at McCoy Stadium received a Jacoby bobblehead. The PawSox fell to Durham (TB), 5-1, in front of over 12,000.

* The Red Sox were unable to come back all the way as the Detroit Tigers edged past the Red Sox, 6-5, on Friday at Fenway Park. The Sox trailed by five in the ninth, but David Ortiz helped the Sox climb within one on his first grand slam since 2008. Mike Cameron struck out with the tying run on to kill the rally. Jon Lester suffered the loss as he allowed 11 hits and four runs over six innings to fall to 11-6.

Trade Deadline: The non-waiver trade deadline is TODAY at 4 p.m. Tune into NESN at 3 p.m. for the Trade Deadline Special as well as an online live blog. A team source just said the Red Sox have nothing “immediate” on the trade front. There is interest from other teams in Ramon Ramirez and Manny Delcarmen, which would bring Michael Bowden back from Pawtucket. Mike Lowell was not activated before last night’s game, which is a big hint that he will be dealt this afternoon.

On the road again: Of Boston’s 27 games from July 19-August 15, only seven tilts will be played at home, all during the current homestand. The club is 6-5 thus far during that stretch. The Sox have just one off day (8/16) in a 27-day span from July 30 through August 25.

Bye July: Today marks the last game in July and at 11-13 the Sox will finish the month with a losing record, their second losing month in 2010 (April, 11-12). The last time Boston had two losing months in a season was 2006 (August, 9-21 and September, 13-14).

In the Community: The annual Picnic in the Park, benefitting the Red Sox Foundation’s Red Sox Scholars and Rookie and RBI programs, will take place following tomorrow’s game…The fan favorite charitable fundraiser, hosted by The Red Sox Wives, will include a special performance of Blue Man Group, a BBQ picnic and a 30-minute autograph session with current Sox players. Tickets are still available at RedSox.com or by calling (617)-226-6002. Yesterday, David Ortiz was in Framingham to kick off the first anniversary celebration of Big Papi’s Grille on Route 9. A few fans gathered outside of his resturant at around 8:30 a.m. yesterday awaiting his 11:30 a.m. arrival. He arrived with his Home Run Derby trophy and people that met him were treated to a celebratory slice of cake.

Moving Doubie: Felix Doubront was told last night that he would be pitching out of the bullpen for the remainder of the season. He was 1-2 with a 4.11 ERA for the Red Sox.

On Saturday, the Sox had a five-run lead in the early going, but allowed the winning run on a Ramon Santiago bases-loaded walk off Ramon Ramirez. David Ortiz finished 3-for-6 with a run and two RBI. Jon Lester started well, allowing four hits, four runs, and four walks, while fanning ten over seven innings, but the bullpen did not help his cause. Manny Delcarmen took the loss as allowed a hit, a run, and a walk over 1.1 innings to fall to 2-3.

On Sunday, the Sox trailed from the start as John Lackey yielded nine runs and five runs over seven innings to take the loss. Jeremy Hermida drove in Boston’s only run with a single in the third inning.

The Sox win head towards home and begin a two-game series against the Yankees in the Bronx on Monday and Tuesday, before hosting Minnesota in a two-gamer at Fenway.

NOTES

* Despite Steven Strasburg being held back from his originally scheduled start at McCoy Stadium on Monday, Jacoby Ellsbury will begin his rehab assignment for the PawSox against the Syracuse Chiefs (WSH) at 12:05 p.m in the finale of their eight-game homestand. He will play in the outfield. When they hit the road, Ellsbury will suit up for Double-A Portland against New Britian (MIN), beginning on Tuesday.

* Mike Cameron was 0-for-2 for the PawSox on Sunday and it sounds like he will rejoin the team in New York.

The Sox got off to a fast start in the first as Dustin Pedroia hit a two-run home run to left field into the Tigers bullpen (8). David Ortiz gave Boston a handful of runs with a three-run homer crushed over the bleachers (5) to take a 5-0 lead.

Brennan Boesch singled to center field in the bottom of the first to drive in the first run and cut the Boston lead to 5-1.

David Ortiz crushed a solo job to right field (6) in the fourth inning to give the Red Sox a 6-1 lead.

The Tigers got one more run in the eighth inning on a sac fly by Brandon Inge, while Bill Hall got it back in the ninth inning with a pinch-hit homer run to left field (2).

Clay Buchholz improved to 4-3 with the win as he allowed just three hits and a run over 6.1 innings, while tying a season-high five walks and fanning three. Max Scherzer allowed six runs and six hits over five innings to fall to 1-4.

The Red Sox will send Jon Lester to the mound in game two of the series at Comerica Park at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday.

The Red Sox (18-17) are on the road for the first leg of a five-game roadtrip in Detroit on Friday night with the first of a three-game series against the Tigers (20-15). While the Sox are in the Motor City, we will be on a short break from previews before the games this weekend. We will be covering tomorrow night’s Eastern League game between Portland (BOS) and New Hampshire (TOR) at MerchantsAuto.com Stadium in Manchester, NH. It will be a matchup of organizational prized possessions as Casey Kelly takes the mound for the Sea Dogs and Kyle Drabek for the Fishers.

Series Stuff: The Red Sox won the season series against the Tigers, 6-1, including a three-game sweep from June 2-4.

For the Record: The Sox are winners in five of the last seven series beginning on April 20. So far this year, Boston has played 13 games against teams with a winning percentage of .600 or better, which is tied for second-most with Atlanta, and only behind Baltimore. However, the Red Sox record is 3-10 (.231) in those games.

The Road is Rough: Each of the next five opponents have a .500 record or better to start the season, while three of them lead their divisions (Minnesota in the A.L. Central, Philadelphia in the N.L. East, and Tampa Bay in the A.L. East). All of those teams combine for a 108-62 record (.635) and rank among the top six winning percentages in baseball.